Recipes: Take Girl Scout cookies to next level
BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON World Scene Writer
Sunday, March 03, 2013
3/03/13 at 5:45 AM
Are you ready to take your Girl Scout cookie consumption to the next level?
The cookies are tasty enough eaten straight from the plastic sleeve.
But imagine the possibilities.
Rusty Rowe, owner of Mod's Coffee and Crepes, did just that.
When Libby Auld, who owns Elote - the restaurant across the street from Mod's at Fifth Street and Boston Avenue - called Rowe last year and asked if he would buy some of the cookies her daughter was selling, he said, 'Yes, I'll take a case.' "
Of which flavor, she asked.
"All of them."
Rowe's master plan was to crush the cookies and incorporate them into the gelato he sells. The first year went over so well with his cookie-craving customers, Rowe knew he had to do the same thing again this year.
"Gelato typically does not sell as well when it gets cold, so it was a way to get people excited about it again," Rowe said.
They started the first week this year with the Trefoils, the shortbread cookies.
Next week, they will be serving gelato containing Do-Si-Dos.
The Thin Mint gelato is so popular that Rowe had to plan the timing of the special accordingly.
"We had people beg us to hold back on the Thin Mint gelato until after Easter because they were observing Lent. We actually had to count back the number of weeks before we started it," Rowe said.
Here are some recipes that might inspire you to get creative with your Girl Scout cookies.
Where to find them
Look for booth sales at Walmart, Sam's, Reasor's, Kmart, Lowe's, and other area businesses. For a complete listing of dates and locations where you can buy cookies, use the Cookie Locator at tulsaworld.com/girlscouts or download the Cookie Locator Mobile App for mobile devices.
SAMOAS DREAM CAKE
Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can store-bought caramel frosting
Coconut caramel filling
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
1 box Samoas Girl Scout cookies
Chocolate ganache
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
10 oz. chocolate chips
6 1/2 tablespoons milk
Bottom and sides
2 boxes of Samoas Girl Scout cookies
1. Mix and bake yellow cake according to manufacturer's instructions using three 8-inch pans.
2. To prepare the coconut caramel filling, mix brown sugar, egg yolk, cream and vanilla. Melt butter in a sauce pan then add mixture. Cook mixture over medium heat until it boils for one minute - stirring often with a wire whisk. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes. Chill mixture in refrigerator.
3. Line a 10-inch springform cake pan with parchment paper. Chop one box of Samoas and press into bottom of the springform pan. Sprinkle 2 oz. of chocolate chips over chopped cookies and place in the oven until chocolate chips melt. Using the back of a spoon, spread chocolate over cookie crumbs as evenly as possible.
4. Place first layer of cake on top of melted chocolate and crumbs. Spread half of coconut caramel filling over cake. Place second layer of cake in pan and top with remaining filling. Place third layer of cake in pan. Remove sides of pan and spread caramel icing over top and sides of cake. Chill cake while preparing chocolate ganache.
5. Prepare the chocolate ganache by melting butter, cream, sugar, milk and chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler until it is about the consistency of bottled creamy salad dressing - thin enough to pour, but thick enough to coat the top of the cake without running off.
6. Place cake on cooling rack with a cookie sheet (preferably with sides) underneath. Pour chocolate ganache onto the middle of the cake. Encourage it to roll over the sides of the cake with a palette knife, spatula or the back of a spoon. Cover the cake as evenly as possible while trying to minimize the strokes used - the fewer strokes you use, the smoother the finish will be.
7. Chop the second box of cookies and press onto the sides of the cake. Chill cake and remaining ganache in refrigerator. If desired, slide cake off parchment paper and springform pan bottom using a long spatula.
8. Finish the cake with piped rosettes of ganache and cut cookies or other fanciful decorations such as butterflies, honeybees, birds, etc., using tinted icing.
- Courtesy of the Girl Scouts
THIN MINTS KRISPY TREATS
1/4 cup butter
6 cups miniature marshmallows
7 cups Cocoa Pebbles
24 Thin Mints coarsely chopped
2 cups Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips, divided
1. Line 9-by-9-inch pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir periodically until melted. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in Cocoa Pebbles and chopped cookies until incorporated.
4. Let sit for 2 minutes. Then add in 1 cup Andes baking chips. Stir until they are distributed.
5. Press mixture into prepared pan and then sprinkle remaining cup of Andes baking chips on top and press into bars.
6. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
- Adapted from cookiesandcups.com
PRESTO PEANUT BUTTER PIE
1 cup crushed Do-Si-Do cookies
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 6-ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix
Whipped topping
1. Mix the crushed cookies with the melted butter and sugar, then pat into a 9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
2. Prepare pudding mix according to package directions using 1 1/2 cups of milk. Stir in the peanut butter.
3. Let cookie mixture cool in pan, and then pour pudding mixture over it.
Garnish with whipped topping and serve.
- Adapted from Scoutingweb.com
RICH AND FAMOUS BROWNIES
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups Thin Mints cookies crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1. Mix milk, marshmallows, chocolate chips, sugar and salt in microwaveable bowl. Bring to a boil in microwave. Stir well and cook in microwave an additional 2 minutes at medium-high heat.
2. Remove from microwave. Add butter, vanilla and chopped nuts. Break Thin Mints cookies into crumbs and add to mixture. Pack into a 9-inch square pan. Refrigerate to harden. Cut into 2-inch squares.
- Adapted from scoutingweb.com
Original Print Headline: Take Girl Scout cookies to next level
Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Samoas Dream Cake has all the qualities of a cake and the Girl Scout cookie rolled into one. Courtesy
Girl Scout cookies Trefoils (top left), Savannah Smiles, Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints and Samoas TOM GILBERT/ Tulsa World file
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